I'm a natural Earthy kinda girl, I love all things green and have been an eco-warrior and animal rights activist from a young age. It is only apt therefore that I was actually born on Earth Day. This is my blog looking into ways to help both the planet, and each and every one of its inhabitants, and to put an end to animal testing full stop.

Thursday, 30 April 2015

Meet Anna. Anna is a very sweet dog that has recently been released from the laboratory where she was used for testing, and into the hands of the wonderful animal rights charity that I work with, Unite to Care.

Life hasn't been very nice to this poor girl up until now, and what Anna needs now is a loving environment to live out the remainder of her days with lots of hugs and attention.

Anna is currently in a foster home, but is looking for her fur~ever home. She's not so much one for big massive long walks (would you be if you'd been confined to a cage your whole life!?!!), and much prefers to chill in the back garden, and just enjoy the feel of grass on her feets and the fresh air.

Anna is adapting well to the company of cats, but not so much other dogs....especially the bouncy type. :) For that reason we are looking for a home where Anna would be the only dog. Ideally a home with no children under the age of 16, unless they are incredibly mature for their age. Anna needs a quiet life to live out the rest of her days.
(Edited to add - Anna has been absolutely wonderful in the house, and there haven't been any accidents or anything, which is just brilliant. Her anxiety levels seem to be worst when out on walks. Being on a lead will be such a scary and new experience for her, especially with all these new surroundings and experiences. It is natural for a dog's anxiety levels to increase when on a lead. It is also very common. I know from personal experience with my family Westie that he is so much worse when on his lead and encountering other dogs than when he is off it. I wish I had learned simple dog training techniques with him when he was younger and of better vision/hearing. The other problem with Hamish and how he can be around other dogs is the anxiety my mum can have when she walks him. My mum is generally scared of dogs. Her and Hamish were attacked before, and dogs have went for Hamish a few times. This means that she tenses up, and he senses that straight away. I notice that then when I walk Hamish and he's on the lead, he goes to be agro with other dogs. However when I let him off the lead and let him potter around on his own and go up and sniff other dogs....I generally don't have a problem. It's funny, because I have spied on her walking my Beagle and there is totally a different energy there. He drives her nuts, but she almost seems calmer when walking him. Which is interesting because Alfie insists on speaking to every dog he meets. He has such a different energy though, so in turn that will have an effect on mother. Alfie is the calm one though around other dogs, mother not. Anna is the opposite, she unfortunately hasn't had the joy of being socialised and all these new experiences are really scary for her. So Anna needs someone to be calm and patient so that she can feed off of their energy. If you think you could be that person, we would LOVE to hear from you!)

If you have been contemplating the addition of a furry friend to your household, please do consider adopting Anna. The rewarding experience gained from saving another creature, and giving them the kind of life they deserve, it's one of the nicest things we as humans can do in my humble opinion. :)

For more information, please contact victoria.fraser@live.co.uk, or direct message our Facebook page. You can also find us on Twitter - @UniteToCare

If everyone could please share this around as many places as possible, that would be amazing. Also check out this video that was done from the BBC coming to meet the new rescues. They made a bit of a mistake though and said that they had been homed, when it was just foster they had found. But yeah....gives you an idea of the amazing work that Unite to Care do. :)

Unite to CARE (Cease Animal Research Experiments) was formed due to an increasing concern as to the use of animals and in particular beagle dogs in medical research. We are a not for profit organisation.

Our main aim is to offer a viable alternative to research companies to allow us the opportunity to find forever loving homes for any ex laboratory or breeding dogs that are surplus to their requirements and therefore of no commercial value, as per the conditions of licensing, that loss of life or suffering is to be kept to a minimum rather than the standard euthanasia carried out.

We are also campaigning for an end to all animal research and consequently safer medicines for all as the alternatives available that do not include suffering to animals are also a lot more accurate for the results in humans rather than relying on antiquated methods currently in place.

There has not been a review of the law in 65 years yet technology has advanced dramatically since then meaning that lives are being risked due to the reluctance to move forward which is vital to protect the public’s health, therefore we will be lobbying MPs and aiming to persuade regulators to accept alternatives to animal experiments where they exist already but are not used due to the easy acceptance that animal testing ‘will do’ as it provides enough protection for the pharmaceutical industry to be able to say they have tested to the standard required rather than the best method available.

Friday, 24 April 2015

Awwww. I am so proud of all of my fellow Unite to Care girls and boys. :) When Vicky Fraser first pulled us all together to fight against pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca over two years ago when they were shipping Beagles over to the UK for testing, we were a handful of people who all believed in the same thing. That every creature should be treated with respect, and that Beagles, nor any other animal, should be subjected to horrific testing for any kind of procedure. We have grown SOOOOO much in that time, and gained support from some amazing people.

Check out this wonderful video to show our plight so far and the lives that have been saved. :)

United, we stand together, and we ARE making a difference.

To keep up to date with the wonderful work our people are doing, you can find us on Facebook and Twitter.